Extreme Hopes
by JinxedSydney
Summary: Weddings were absolutely and unequivocally avoided. Sarah had actually managed to miss every one she had ever been invited to. The white gown, the groom intensely watching his bride, the dancing; it was everything she wanted to forget and everything she wanted to remember.


**Found this little one-shot (written years ago) when moving furniture this weekend! It had fallen behind a desk. :) I hope you enjoy it! ~JS  
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><p>Time had been kind to Sarah for the past 15 years; she had aged gracefully and still had plenty of men vying for her attention. Ruthlessly, she had thrown herself into work as an international lawyer, traveling the world for weeks at a time, trying to never slow down and remember the Labyrinth. At times, it seemed like it had all been a dream until the mornings she woke gasping for air. His face was always in the forefront in her mind, appearing as a stranger on the streets or London or in a theatre in New York. A song on an overhead speaker system would cause Sarah to anxiously look for him, almost needing to see him to assure that she hadn't imagined the entire magical experience. She never listened to the radio at her infrequently lived-in studio apartment or global hotels. When the anticipation for Jareth's appearance would stifle and overwhelm her, Sarah would put on running shoes and run until words jumbled together and exhaustion wrapped her into sleep. What few friends she had never understood her sorrow, but each saw the effect it had on her; swallowing the woman until she was able to climb her way back out of the hole, out of the Labyrinth.<p>

Weddings were absolutely and unequivocally avoided. Sarah had actually managed to miss every one she had ever been invited to. The white gown, the groom intensely watching his bride, the dancing; it was everything she wanted to forget and everything she wanted to remember. So when her stepmother decided to renew their vows in a "small" ceremony, Sarah had no way to excuse herself from the program since she would be the maid of honor.

Nervousness over the impending situation had sent Sarah scrambling to a doctor for something to calm her nerves. When the medication made her too drowsy and she dreamed of endless staircases, she flushed the pulls and told herself to grow up. She was able to fight extraditions, obtain visas for those in need, brush elbows with senators and powerful world citizens and yet the thirty year old couldn't calm down for a simple backyard service. Even Toby, rich with wisdom for his teenage years, suggested a glass of wine when she arrived the morning of the ceremony.

It was a small wedding for Karen's standards, but over 100 people watched the vow renewals and danced under the stars in the backyard of Sarah's childhood home. Karen's friends, full of good intentions, pushed their sons, nephews or friends to dance with the maid of honor. Sarah didn't reject any request for a dance, but felt the weight of everyone's expectations, hoping that their choice for her partner would be the one to make her happy. Toby even teased her as he stepped in for a spin on the dance floor. "At least I know that they won't expect us to get married." It was the one time that Sarah felt at ease that night, laughing like nothing else mattered except for her and her little brother.

As the guests started to depart, Karen and her father left for their second honeymoon. Sarah had agreed to stay for the week to make sure Toby got to school and wasn't in any trouble. She had intended to stay in a hotel a few blocks away, but her father was offended until she consented to stay in her old room. She hadn't spent a night in the room since she had left for college years before.

Just being back at the house put Sarah on edge. She had been painfully cognizant that Jareth may be watching her, even if she couldn't see him. When she finally had the courage to go to her room, she fully expected that he would be waiting. And he was not. Only her stuffed animals stared back with their plastic eyes. She tore open her suitcase, searching for her running shoes as her chest tightened only to find that they were not there. Flinging her ridiculous high heels onto the rug, Sarah bolted down the stairs and back out into the now darkened and tranquil backyard.

The caterers had left and the clean-up crew wasn't due until the morning. Sarah collapsed into a puddle of pink chiffon and struggled to catch her breath. "I know you are here," she finally admitted into the black night sky. "I feel you. I know you…Jareth." The sound of his name through her own lips was startling; it rang impatient and wanting. It frightened her.

She heard approaching footsteps, his steps, in the grass but kept her eyes smashed closed. The wedding flowers' perfume fragranced the summer air. "_No, no, no, no! What have I done?"_ she thought, as he stopped near her head. Sarah had summoned the Goblin King and held her breath.

"Sarah." A thousand cords of apprehension released at the sound of his voice. Her heart raced like she had been running for hours. When the woman finally released her breath, his hand grazed her cheek.

"I have to be dreaming. This never happened! Oh God, please tell me that it happened and I am not crazy," she whispered, pushing herself up from the ground and coming face to face with her phantom, his features barely visible from the porch lights.

"Will you come back with me?" Sarah opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Everything in her mind screamed for her to flee. The confusion and pain of the Labyrinth churned in her memories, but quieted when Jareth touched her cheek again. "Come back to me, Sarah." Silencing the doubt, Sarah found herself nodding and being pulled into his arms. It was so familiar and comfortable; the peace that she had been longing for and running from. Her eyes closed in respite and her arms inevitably wound themselves around his waist.

A gust of hot air warmed her skin and she could tell that they were on the hillside above the Labyrinth, even through her eyelids. The bright orange sky hurt her eyes, so she turned back into Jareth's chest. A low chuckle bounced through him and he wrapped his arms across her back and pulled her tighter to his body. Sarah swore her heart stopped, if only for a beat, as he pressed his lips chastely into the top of her hair and whispered her name.

She braved the bright sky and looked across the Labyrinth. "Is everyone still here?" A few plucky steps away from her protector brought a new ache to see Ludo, Hoggle and Didymus. Did the doorknockers still argue? Had the junk lady confused any more souls? Had anyone defeated the Labyrinth as she had? Had Jareth seduced another?

"Your friends are well, living among the Labyrinth. And there has never been another." His perceptive voice was at her ear and she could feel him leaning into her from behind. "It was only, ever you, Sarah."

His arm extended next to her shoulder and a crystal globe rested on his fingertips. Straining to see the image, Sarah saw the familiar masquerade ball. People swirled by with their masks and pushed her into other dancers. Frantically, Sarah realized she was back at the ball and pushed her way through the horde to find Jareth. His voice taunted her through the music. And then…she remembered.

"For my will is as strong as yours," she declared.

Unexpectedly, the whole room blurred into a white space and he was standing behind her again, enfolding his arms around her. "Sarah, please. You've only just come back. Let me show you what I can give to you." His voice was tender in her ear, but his familiar words did not land where they were intended.

She spun around to his beautiful face hat nearly made her forget what she needed to say. "I am not a girl, Jareth. There is nothing here that I need, only what I want." She closed her eyes and lowered her sassy chin, a frustrated sigh escaping her lips. "What am I doing?" A client in England needed her expertise and she was choosing to meddle with dreams and lust.

"You confound me, woman. You called to me and I came. You wanted to return, so I brought you here." His finger hooked her chin and raised her gaze to his mismatched eyes. "There is nothing that I wouldn't do to have you here with me."

Although Jareth tried to pull Sarah close, her face bloomed crimson in anger, defiant for the years she had spent alone, running from the Labyrinth and its demanding King. "I am NO man's woman. I am beholding to none. No one makes my decisions for me…not even you." She guessed the effect her next words would have on him, so she dropped her voice. "Surely, even you will remember that my will is as strong as your and that I will _never_ forget the next line."

Undaunted, the pale monarch drew in his breath sharply and refused to break her stare. Sarah felt her resolve waver; she wanted to take back all that she had said and beg for forgiveness. She wanted to stand there silently and make him realize that she was not to be ruled over, but loved as an equal. _"There will be no fearing him,"_ she thought as her tenacity grew. His eyes drilled into hers and she felt at ease, like a prosecutor in a straightforward case. A slow smile spread across her lips as she appreciated all that she had accomplished in her life and how it had led up to this moment, toe to toe with the Goblin King.

"Sarah," he ultimately started to protest until she interrupted him.

"I will not fear you." She took a step towards him. "I will not obey your every word." Closer still, she stepped, staring back as firmly as he was. "I will love you." Then, she was against his chest and gazing up, so close that her lips nearly touched his. "Turn back time or give me the moon, but you will never have power over me." She pushed up onto her toes and softly kissed him. "It is for me to give, not for you to take, Jareth." To demonstrate her sincerity, the Labyrinth champion closed her eyes and kissed its ruler again.

With weak knees, Sarah felt Jareth push her shoulders down and the smell of the wedding flowers made her open her eyes. The Labyrinth had disappeared and she was sitting in the grass of the backyard of her father's home. Melancholy and mirth, the lawyer had offered her settlement and been met with a rejection.

The house was dark and Toby was sprawled across his bed when she wandered through the rooms. Too miserable to sleep, Sarah poured herself a glass of wine and perched a lit candle on her dressing table. She changed into sweats and a t-shirt before plopping down onto the chair to stare at her own reflection. It was warm enough to open the window, and in doing so, Sarah halfway wished that a white owl would swoop in. Seeing that no owl appeared, she sat back down at the dressing table and nursed her glass of wine, slouching down in the chair and closing her tired eyes. For the first time in years, she hummed the song from the masquerade ball, imagining the gowns and masks, imagining Jareth singing into her ear…she could almost feel his breath on her neck. Her eyes snapped open and stared at the empty reflection. She whipped around to check the equally empty room. "Ahhh," she breathed out loud, lowering her head to her hands. "I deserve my misery," she mumbled into her palms.

"Extreme hopes are born from extreme misery." Sarah looked up into the empty room. The thin light flickered from the candle and bounced shadows everywhere in the room. She got up to switch on the light. "You shouldn't do that. I love you more like this…defenses down." His voice seems to fill the room with whispers. She froze in the center of the bedroom, not sure which way to look or turn. "Bewildered and lovely. Headstrong and vulnerable." His shadow materialized from the wall near her bed. Slowly and deliberately, Jareth advanced towards her, entirely captivating her attention. "I want nothing more than is before me."

"I will not be ruled over.

"I am selfish and I will try."

And for the first time in her life, Jareth kissed his champion.


End file.
